During 2011 the massive drought across the Horn of Africa had severely endangered lives and destroyed livelihoods. Without water, crops, animals, and people would perish. In addition to the supply of immediately needed emergency water, more sustainable solutions were needed to address ever more frequent recurrent droughts that would mitigate continually repeated emergency responses. 

Research indicated that a traditional water storage technology, and social management system, had existed for communities to mitigate dry seasons and droughts in the past but it had fallen out of use and was in serious disrepair. Hand-dug reservoirs, called “birkets,” large enough for an entire small community had filled with runoff from the short rainy seasons in the area. They were built with shared community-contributed labor. During the dry season, community elders managed a household water rationing system. Over time, this system was supplanted by externally introduced much smaller plastic water tanks, that had to be filled by water tanker trucks. Communities became dependent on external, and costly, water resources, and the cycle was repeated annually. 

This disaster risk reduction program rebuilt the community birkets. While the traditional technology and management were utilized, in full collaboration with the community members themselves, the program also introduced technology improvements that would make them more sustainable, more durable, more sufficient and efficient, more sanitary, and safer. Each birket was carefully engineered to be a size that would provide sufficient water for one community for the entire period of the 3-5 month dry season. They were dug by community labor, organized by village elders. To deter deterioration and extend longevity they were lined with concrete. To maximize rain runoff they were carefully sited to take advantage of ground contours, while also being put in the location and at the distance that the communities preferred. To prevent the cause of the greatest water loss, evaporation, a roof was added. The roof also prevented animals and children from falling in, animals from contaminating the water (a special animal watering area was added also), and other desert debris finding its way into the water. The community was responsible for re-establishing their own system for guarding, maintaining, and rationing the water during times of need.